The Hold Steady : NPR

On 'Blankets,' Craig Finn Chronicles A Lost Lover's Search

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

New Music

On 'Blankets,' Craig Finn Chronicles A Lost Lover's Search

January 30, 2019 • The Hold Steady frontman says his new album, I Need A New War, completes a thematic trilogy. Its opening track unfolds like a short story full of grace and instability.

Hear 'Preludes,' The First Single From Craig Finn's New Solo Album

Craig Finn's new album, We All Want The Same Things, comes out March 24. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Hear 'Preludes,' The First Single From Craig Finn's New Solo Album

January 9, 2017 • Finn, who's sung in The Hold Steady and Lifter Puller, has a new record called We All Want The Same Things, due out March 24.

Song Premiere: Craig Finn, 'Newmyer's Roof'

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Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Craig Finn, 'Newmyer's Roof'

June 17, 2015 • The lead singer of The Hold Steady has a new solo album, Faith In The Future, out this September. Like many of the songs on the album, "Newmyer's Roof" is a small slice of life filled with meaning.

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Kelsey Stanger/WXPN

World Cafe

The Hold Steady On World Cafe

XPN

September 19, 2014 • Hear the band survey its decade-long history — including the song singer Craig Finn calls his best.

The Hold Steady On World Cafe

35:46

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Favorite Sessions

The Hold Steady: Rock Stripped Bare

KEXP

January 13, 2009 • The group gets pared down to a trio for this casual acoustic session from KEXP. Craig Finn stood at the mic as Tad Kubler and Franz Nicolay handled an acoustic guitar, banjo and accordion. The set-up lets Finn's voice resonate, which means his great lyrics stand out even more than usual.

The Hold Steady in Studio on World Cafe 11/21/08

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Best Music Of 2008

WNYC's Genre Mix: Top 10 Albums Of 2008

WNYC Radio

December 18, 2008 • This is a list for the Age of the iPod Shuffle, as more people listen to more types of music than ever before. WNYC's John Schaefer mixes up his favorite CD picks for 2008, offering a wide-reaching smorgasbord of classical, pop, folk and world music.

Best Music Of 2008

My 'Album' Of The Year: A 2008 Mixtape

The Current

December 4, 2008 • Last year, Mark Wheat of The Current proclaimed the album dead. So instead of creating a list of top 10 full-length records, he's documenting the year in music with the perfect 10-song mixtape playlist.

Best Music Of 2008

'World Cafe' Picks 2008's Top 10 CDs

XPN

November 24, 2008 • It wasn't the best year for music, but 2008 sure churned out a lot of it: In a marketplace flooded with more music than ever, there's rarely been less of a consensus. Your neighbor's iPod was most likely playing a different tune than yours was. Still, David Dye was able to pinpoint the 10 albums that best kept him interested through multiple listens.

Favorite Sessions

The Hold Steady: A Band In Its Prime

WFUV On-Air: Music Discovery Starts Here

August 21, 2008 • On the eve of the release of its latest album, Stay Positive, The Hold Steady stopped by the WFUV studios for a performance and interview. The group blasted through four new songs with the confidence and urgency of a band at its best.

The Hold Steady in Studio on WFUV 5/28/08

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Music Interviews

The Hold Steady: Rewards And Redemption

July 24, 2008 • The Hold Steady's Craig Finn and Tad Kubler were both over 30 when they made the recordings that finally brought success. But with 2006's Boys and Girls in America and the new Stay Positive, the band has found its place as one of the country's best straight-up rock groups. The band discusses the influences behind its new album.

The Hold Steady: Rewards And Redemption

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Review

Music Reviews

Hold Steady Stays 'Positive'

July 15, 2008 • Blender music critic Lizzy Goodman says she has an "absolute mad love" for the group Hold Steady.

Hold Steady Stays 'Positive'

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Concerts

The Hold Steady in Concert

XPN

May 30, 2008 • The increasingly iconic Brooklyn rock band shook up a full house at WXPN in Philadelphia on May 30, performing old favorites and a handful of new tunes from the forthcoming Stay Positive.

The Hold Steady in Concert

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Studio Sessions

CMJ Sessions: The Hold Steady

KEXP

November 1, 2007 • Last year, Boys and Girls in America established The Hold Steady as the thinking man's bar band. The Holy Steady is a band steeped in clever storytelling and AC/DC riffs funneled through the heartland rock of The Replacements. Hear a performance from CMJ.

Best CDs of 2006

World Cafe's Top 10 CDs of 2006

December 4, 2006 • World Cafe features daily interviews and live in-studio performances from seasoned music veterans and new sensations, in genres ranging from rock to blues to folk to alternative country and beyond. From NPR station WXPN, host David Dye chooses his favorite albums of 2006.

Review

Music Reviews

Hold Steady's 'Boys and Girls' with Problems

October 19, 2006 • The Hold Steady is led by a very wordy, not-so-great singer named Craig Finn. The group's latest CD is Boys and Girls in America — a title taken from a line by Jack Kerouac. The line goes, "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together." Critic Robert Christgau says that despite the band sounding a bit more like Bruce Springsteen, the characters are strong and indeed quite sad.

Hold Steady's 'Boys and Girls' with Problems

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Review

Top Music Picks for 2005

Will Hermes' Top 10 CDs of 2005

December 17, 2005 • All Things Considered music reviewer Will Hermes shares his picks for the 10 best CDs of 2005, from the "wonderfully strange" world of Animal Collective to the "gorgeous hymn rock" of Sigur Ros.

Music Interviews

The Hold Steady: Church, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll

August 24, 2005 • Listeners of The Hold Steady's classic rock sounds may also want to have on hand some resources - namely a Bible and a background in pop culture - in order to decode the lyrics.

The Hold Steady: Church, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll

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Craig Finn's first solo record, Clear Heart Full Eyes, comes out Jan. 24. Jeremy Balderson hide caption

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Jeremy Balderson

First Listen

First Listen: Craig Finn, 'Clear Heart Full Eyes'

The Current

January 15, 2012 • On his first solo album, the Hold Steady singer opts for mellow musical arrangements, allowing listeners to concentrate on the lyrics.

Clear Heart Full Eyes

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Live in Concert

The Hold Steady in Concert

November 20, 2007 • With the release of Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady solidified its place among the best rock bands in the U.S. With classic riffs and literate storytelling, it's been dubbed the thinking man's bar band. Hear The Hold Steady recorded live in concert with Art Brut, from Washington, D.C.

The Hold Steady in Concert

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Cabinet Of Wonders

Cabinet Of Wonders: Episode Two

June 1, 2012 • A feast of music, stories and comedy, featuring Craig Finn, Rosanne Cash, John Darnielle, and Hamilton Leithauser. A reading from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding and comedian Eugene Mirman on the secret messages he leaves on bar napkins.

Listen to this Episode

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Mark Seliger

First Listen

First Listen: The Hold Steady, 'Heaven Is Whenever'

WFUV On-Air: Music Discovery Starts Here

April 18, 2010 • Following the departure of Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay, there was talk that the band might shake things up a bit. A bit, yes, but there's plenty for longtime fans to love on Heaven Is Whenever. Tremendous guitar riffs are still up front throughout these well-written, anthemic songs.

Doriane RaimanNPR

Tiny Desk

Craig Finn: Tiny Desk Concert

February 9, 2012 • All these mournful, inward-facing songs (including the unreleased "Jeremiah's Blues") require is the Hold Steady singer, his acoustic guitar and the indispensable pedal steel of Ricky Ray Jackson.

Craig Finn: Tiny Desk Concert

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